Supplemental wagon-post



' lllU I I w I II No. 620,094. Patented Feb. 28, I899.

J. w. BETTENDORF.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. BETTENDORF, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

SUPPLEMENTAL WAGON-POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent .No. 620,094, dated February 28, 1899.

Application filed June 27, 1898. Serial No. 684,559. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. BETTEN- DORF, of Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Supplemental Side Posts for Wagon-Bodies, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to the wagon-bodies of that class generally known as farmwagons, which are generally of a knockdown-box shape and the sides of which can be builtup.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple yet perfect connection between the upper or superimposed side-board and the lower side-board of such wagon-body, so that said upper side-board can be easily and quicklysecured in position or removed whenever desired. This I accomplish by the mechanism hereinafter fully described and as particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wagon-body having my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the broken-away lower part of one of the supplemental posts locked or clamped in its socket. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position of the clamping devices of said socket when the post is unlocked. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same parts of my invention as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and applied to broken-away adjacent portions of the upper and lower side-boards of the wagon-body. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section therethrough, taken on dotted line 5 5, Fig. 4, looking in the direction indicated by the drawings.

In the drawings, A and A respectively represent the upper and lower side-boards of a box-shaped wagon-body, the upper portion of which, at least, is of a knockdown construction. These side-boards are made to match each other, and the upper longitudinal edge of the lower board A is provided with a metallic tenon-strip a, as shown, and the adjacent lower edge of the upper board A is provided with a corresponding groove for the reception of said tenon.

Secured in a vertical position to the sides of board A, at a suitable point near the front and rear ends of the same, are the channeliron posts B B. These posts are secured to the upper board by rivets, screws, or otherwise and are of such length that their lower portions extend below the lower edge of said board Aa suitable distancesay six inches-- and are provided with a suitable hole I) therein. These lower extensions B of said posts enter suitable sockets secured in alinement therewith to the lower side-board A, which, as shown, are supported on the bolsters X and suitably held in position by the posts a: of the wagon-body. All of these sockets are constructed alike. Therefore the following description of one of them is a description of each. These sockets consist of asuitable casting O, forming a sort of U-shaped-frame, the outer edges of which are flattened and provided with screw or rivet holes and the inner edges of which are preferably flanged outward to assist in guiding the lower end of the extension B of the channel-posts B, when inserted down between the legs or branches of the same. I

Near the bottom of the U-shaped casting C the space between the legs of the same is bridged over by a horizontal strap or crossbar 0, and near the upper ends of said legs they are likewise joined together by a similar cross=bar cl. These bars 0 or d conform to the shape of the channel-iron post, which they confine and which they guide when the extension is inserted in the sockets.

Near the upper end of the socket the legs of the U-shaped casting O are provided with outwardly-projecting pivotal lugs e e, between which the ends of a yoke on bail D are placed and in which the laterally-projecting trunnions thereof are pivoted. The space between the ends of the bail D is filled in by a cylindrical boss f, which is cast or otherwise made integrant with said ends and is eccentric to the pivotal center of the trunnions thereof. J ournaled on this eccentric boss f is the hook -shaped end of a comashaped clamp E,which preferably has its pendent end or tail, the side of which next the board A perfectly fiat with the exception of its lower extremity :0, which is inturned, as shown.

In operation the lower extension B of the supplemental posts are inserted downward in the sockets back of the cross-bars cand d and between the legs of the U shaped frame there of, while bail D is in the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. When the edges of the two side-boards meet, the bail D is swung toward and to the position thereof shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, whereupon the flat inner surface of the clamp E bears against the web of the channel-iron post and clamps it against the said side-board, and at the same time the inturned extremity w of said clamp enters the hole b in the extension of the post and by bearing against the lower edge of the same pushes said post downward and draws the upper board down tightly against the lower board and causes the tenon of the latter to enter the grooved edge of the former and make a perfectly-tight joint between them.

In order to facilitate the assembling of the bail and clamp, I prefer to flatten the end of one of the branches of the bail, as at y, so that such flattened end can be passed through the opening of the hook of the clamp when the bail and clamps are placed at right angles to each other, and then by moving the bolt laterally it becomes journaled on the eccentric boss 1.

I do not desire to be confined to the exact shape of the several parts of my invention, because it is obvious they could be changed.

What I claim as new is 1. The combination with the upper removable side-boards of a wagon-body,- having grooves in their lower edges, and vertical posts secured thereto the lower ends of which extend below the lower edge of said board and have an opening therethrough, of the lower side-board of said wagon-body, a metallic tenon-strip secured longitudinally to the upper edge of the same, sockets secured to said lower board, and a clamp to secure the lower extensions of said posts in said sockets the lower end of which is so constructed as to engage said opening and bear down on the lower edge thereof when operated to clamp said post.

2. The combination with the upper removable side-boards of a wagon-body, and vertical posts secured thereto the lower ends of which extend below the lower edge of said board and have an opening therethrough, of the lower side-board of said wagon-body, U- shaped sockets the branches of which are bridged over by suitable guide-straps or crossbars, a bail pivoted in the branches of said U-shaped socket having a cylindrical eccentric boss between its ends, and a clampingshoe journaled at one end to said eccentric boss and having its lower end adapted to engage the opening in the extension of said posts.

3. The combination with the upper removable side-boards of a wagon-body and verti cal posts secured thereto the lower ends of which extend below the lower edge of said board and have an opening therethrough, of the lower side-boards of said wagon-body, U- shaped sockets the branches of which are bridged over by suitable cross-bars, a bail pivoted in the branches of said U-shaped socket one end of which is flattened and which has an eccentric cylindrical boss between its ends and a clamping-shoe having one end hook-shaped and journaled on said eccentric boss and having its lower end adapted to engage the opening in the extension of said post.

4. The combination with the upper remov-' able side-board of a wagon-body having a groove in its lower edge, and vertical channel-iron posts secured thereto the lower ends of which have an opening therethrough, of the lower side-board of said wagon-body, U- shaped sockets the branches of which are bridged over by suitable guide-straps and devices for drawing said posts downward and clamping the same in said sockets, as and for the purpose set forth.

JOSEPH XV. BETTENDORF. Vitnesses:

HENRY VoLLMER, FRED. VoLLMER. 

